SURFSIDE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – The Surfside Beach Pier isn't expected to reopen until the spring of 2019 at the earliest, according to town officials.

Originally, hopes were to have it reopened in May 2018.

A press release from Town Administrator Micki Fellner stated the process of securing Federal Emergency Management Agency funding is complex and there are a lot of requirements that have to be met to get the federal funding to complete the project.

That process is slowing down repairing the pier, which was severely damaged during Hurricane Matthew back in October.

“We are moving as quickly as we can, but this is a complicated project and since FEMA is involved, it is critical that we do everything exactly as they require,” Fellner said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this means our hope of having it reopened by May of 2018 will likely not come to fruition.”

Fellner added the timeline for completing work on the pier could possibly extend into the spring or summer of 2019, “depending on the final scope of work approved by FEMA and authorized by town council.”

Over a three-year span, seven doctors in the Grand Strand and the Pee Dee wrote nearly 71,000 prescriptions for fewer than 13,000 elderly or disabled patients enrolled in the Medicare prescription program.

Over a three-year span, seven doctors in the Grand Strand and the Pee Dee wrote nearly 71,000 prescriptions for fewer than 13,000 elderly or disabled patients enrolled in the Medicare prescription program.